Girl, 6, may need more surgery

Published 7:00 am, Sunday, August 28, 2011

Trinaty Rincon, 6, may need another operation to fix problems with her toes that resulted from an accidental scalding when she was a baby. A love fund has been set up at American State Bank.

Trinaty Rincon, 6, may need another operation to fix problems with her toes that resulted from an accidental scalding when she was a baby. A love fund has been set up at American State Bank.

Girl, 6, may need more surgery

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Less than six months after having three toes surgically removed, 6-year-old Trinaty Rincon could be facing another operation.

The La Mesa Elementary School first grader's mother, Crystal Rincon, said her daughter is scheduled to meet with several evaluation teams Oct. 20 at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas.

"She was doing really well after her (March 25) surgery, but recently the next toe (on her right foot) started turning up," Crystal said. "I asked her doctors in Lubbock if they could pin it to keep it straight, but they didn't want to do anything more and referred us to Dallas."

In a letter dated Aug. 10, Scottish Rite Hospital Administrator Robert L. Walker notified Rincon that Trinaty's case had been accepted. The letter included a schedule for the girl's first clinic visit and initial evaluation.

Trinaty's health problems date to August 2006, when she was just 15 months old.

Rincon said her daughter was in the bathtub when a sibling decided to be helpful and turned on the hot water.

Trinaty suffered second- and third-degree burns in the accidental scalding.

"She was taken to UMC in Lubbock where Trinaty received skin graphs on her right foot" to replace the damaged skin, her mother told the Herald in March. But the scar tissue and grafted skin around her smaller three toes failed to stretch and expand as the girl grew.

"Because of that, those three toes were always shorter and eventually turned up at a 90-degree angle," her mother said.

While under the care of doctors at UMC, Trinaty had three "outpatient" surgeries and a score of Botox injections to help stretch the damaged skin, but they brought only temporary relief. After three years at UMC, Crystal decided to take her daughter to Covenant Women's and Children's Hospital where on Jan. 21 Trinaty had surgery to once more straighten the digits.

The two-hour surgery was not successful.

"They said that even if it had worked, she would have had the same problem again in 2-3 years," her mother said. "She is still growing, but the grafted skin and scar tissue are not growing and stretching to keep up. And the bones in those toes were growing upward, and they said her joints have grown into the shape of doughnuts.

"It's gotten to the point that we don't want to put her through any more pain," Crystal said. "And we don't want to traumatize her with still more procedures" in the future.

Following her January surgery, Trinaty spent about three weeks in a wheelchair. She then started walking with a limp because she was afraid to put much pressure on her injured foot. As a result, she tried to walk with her foot turned sideways.

Once the three deformed toes were removed in March and Trinaty recovered, she was walking normally, her mother said, until earlier this summer when the next toe on her right foot began to involuntarily curl upward.

After conferring with her doctors in Lubbock, Trinaty's next step, according to her mother, will be the October examination in Dallas.

Trinaty will begin her day at the Scottish Rite Hospital at 8:15 a.m. with an appointment in the Hand Clinic with orthopedic specialists Drs. Marybeth Ezaki and Scott Oishi.

Next, at 8:45 a.m., she will meet and be evaluated in the Hand Clinic by her nursing team and other caregivers.

At 12:30 p.m., Trinaty will meet with Dr. Lori Karol, staff orthopedist with the Green Orthopedic Clinic. Following that at 1 p.m., she is scheduled to visit with the nursing team and other caregivers in the Orthopedic Clinic.

If they deem it necessary, the various specialists may order additional tests, X-rays and exams to aid in diagnosing and treating the girl.

"The Sottish Rite Hospital in Dallas doesn't charge for any of its services," Crystal explained, "but we still need help with the transportation costs, lodging and other expenses."

A love fund to help defray those expenses has been set up in Trinaty Rincon's name at American State Bank.